The Lid: Kasich and Cruz Had a Week Filled With Hail Marys

Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos… It’s White House Correspondents Dinner (otherwise known as Nerd Prom) weekend, which for many journalists means it’s time to get your yearly selfie with that one creepy guy from House of Cards. (Seriously, he’s here every year.)

Speaking of Prom, the whole 2016 race kind of feels like prom is in four days and neither John Kasich nor Ted Cruz has a date. And so, with their backs against the wall and time running out, they’re in desperate need of an epic prom-posal. And that’s why we’ve seen some epic Hail Marys this week. It started with the Cruz-Kasich alliance both campaigns announced Sunday. That quickly went south when, the next morning, Kasich said his supporters in Indiana should vote for him. Following that, we had Cruz announce Carly Fiorina as his VP pick. Kasich had his own cry for attention on Thursday when he announced he would talk about the state of the race, only to give a long reflective monologue that ended with him saying he was going to stay in. With the make-or-break moment looming, we’re seeing some pretty untested tactics here. At best, it somehow helps lift Cruz in Indiana and ultimately prevents Trump from hitting 1,237. At worst, Kasich and Cruz are the guys who set up a really elaborate and public engagement for a girlfriend ready to break up with them.